Click here to watch the 9.30am service on YouTube
O God, make speed to save us.
All O Lord, make haste to help us.
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
All if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
Psalm 139.7
Yesterday I was crucified with Christ;
today I am glorified with him.
Yesterday I was dead with Christ;
today I am sharing in his resurrection.
Yesterday I was buried with him;
today I am waking with him from the sleep of death.
Gregory of Nazianzus (389)
Psalm 114
1 When Israel came out of Egypt, ♦
the house of Jacob from a people of a strange tongue,
2 Judah became his sanctuary, ♦
Israel his dominion.
3 The sea saw that, and fled; ♦
Jordan was driven back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, ♦
the little hills like young sheep.
5 What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? ♦
O Jordan, that you were driven back?
6 You mountains, that you skipped like rams, ♦
you little hills like young sheep?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, ♦
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 Who turns the hard rock into a pool of water, ♦
the flint-stone into a springing well.
All Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
Reading
Gospel of John 20: 19 - 31
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’
But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’
28 Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’
29 Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Reflection
Prayers
Christ yesterday and today,
the beginning and the end,
Alpha and Omega,
all time belongs to you,
and all ages;
to you be glory and power
through every age and for ever.
All Amen. from the Easter Vigil
The Collect of the day
Almighty Father,
you have given your only Son to die for our sins
and to rise again for our justification:
grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness
that we may always serve you
in pureness of living and truth;
through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
All Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
All Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Blessing and Conclusion
The peace of God,
which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God,
and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
All Amen.
May the risen Christ give us his peace.
All Alleluia. Amen.
Parody Music Copyright: ‘You’re wonderful’. One Way UK Creative Ministries;
Purchased from www.onewayuk.com